The Punjab Kings (PBKS) have won the toss and opted to bowl first against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. PBKS made two changes while SRH reverted to the old team after a forced change in the last game.
Why did PBKS choose to bowl?
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer believed runs would be scored for fun in Hyderabad. He stated that there’s no grass on the pitch, suggesting little to no help for bowlers. That’s why he reckons chasing is the way to go. Shreyas confirmed that Shashank Singh returns to the team, after missing the last 2 matches, as he’s recovered from injury, and Lockie Ferguson also comes in.
“We will bowl first. So far we have learned amazing things in the last few matches we have lost. We have no complaints so far because of travelling. Everyone is holding up well as professionals. In the last match SRH chased so I thought we would bowl. Shashank comes in,” Shreyas said after winning the toss.
Pat Cummins, SRH captain, stated that he would’ve batted second as well if he had won the toss. SRH made just one change, as Nitish Kumar Reddy returns. He missed the last game due to illness.
“I also would have bowled first. Hopefully we come up great tonight. The crowds have supported us very well this season. I can’t really judge the pitch. Hopefully we will put some runs on the board. Nitish is back for us tonight,” Cummins told Ravi Shastri.
SRH vs PBKS: Playing XIs & Impact Subs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head✈️, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen✈️, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (c)✈️, Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga✈️, Sakib Hussain
- Impact Subs: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly✈️, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis✈️, Marco Jansen✈️, Lockie Ferguson✈️, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
- Impact Subs: Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Pitch Report
The SRH vs PBKS match is expected to be a high-scoring encounter. Pitch number two, where SRH scored 242 against the Delhi Capitals earlier, will be the surface. It’s also the same pitch where India made 297 against Bangladesh in 2024. The dimensions, 62 and 68 metres on either side, help batters as mishits yield more boundaries than usual. The straight boundary is longer, 75 metres. Whichever team forces the batters to play down the ground more often might end up winning.
IPL record at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium for toss winners
There’s a disadvantage for teams winning the toss at the venue. Just 32 of 88 matches, 36.36%, have been won by them. Batting second has also been more fruitful: chasing teams have won 49 matches, 55.68%, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the IPL.
| Total Matches | Matches Won after Winning Toss | Matches Lost after Winning Toss | Matches Won Batting First | Matches Won Batting Second |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 32 (36.36%) | 55 (62.50%) | 38 (43.18%) | 49 (55.68%) |
SRH vs PBKS: Who has the advantage?
SRH have a moderate record at home in IPL 2026. They’ve lost 2 out of 5 matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. There’s a clear pattern. When they score over 180, they win. When they don’t, they lose. Because their batting is their strong suit, they struggle on tough pitches where runs don’t come easily. However, considering the pitch is expected to offer big runs, SRH are also expected to do well. PBKS are a similar team; they look to out-bat the opposition as well. But playing at home does give SRH the edge.
Cricket
ICC announces Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Warm-up fixtures, India to play England and West Indies
